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Drunken pirates sing pop hit as they head for firing squad

Saturday, 29 January 2000

MICHAEL WONG

burst	fired	unidentified	chatted	bludgeoned	described	restrained	cursing
convicted	executed	yelled	staggered	emerged	hijacked	dumped	confirmed

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Thirteen pirates drunkenly to their deaths yesterday, the Communist Party and singing a Ricky Martin song. The gang - of murdering 23 crew members aboard a Hong Kong-registered vessel - were taken to the firing squad after having their death sentences in a Shanwei court.

But before they left for the execution grounds, they were locked in the court room with relatives, some food and a large amount of rice wine. Half an hour later, they unsteadily into bright sunlight strapped up ready for their executions, red in the face, shouting and singing.

Six or seven of the pirates into a rendition of Ricky Martin's World Cup 1998 theme song La Copa De La Vida - or "The Cup of Life" - as they were loaded on to a truck outside the court. Yang Jingtao, 25, of murder and robbery, led the singing, jumping up and down in his chains and singing: "Go, go, go, ole, ole, ole."

Turning from the truck to speak to reporters, he sarcastically: "I just want to thank all the Communist Party's judicial system and thank my defending counsel for giving me a fair chance." The man as ringleader of the gang, Indonesian Wei Suoni, smiled and enjoyed a last cigarette while standing in the first truck. Lu Xu, 23, also of murder and robbery, shouted in native dialect against the Communist Party.

A Public Security Bureau official said: "We gave the men food and hard liquor to help take away the tension of being and to make it easier for them." Earlier, in Shanwei Intermediate People's Court for the fourth time, the 13 men were calm as their sentences were by Chief Judge Cheng Tingguang. The court the 13 men in December but had to wait for Beijing's approval for the execution of Wei because he held a foreign passport.

Gang members smiled and as the court heard briefly how they had to death and in the sea 23 men on board Cheung Son, a cargo ship managed by Waibert Steamship Company of Hong Kong last November. With their hands bound by chains and feet with shackles, the men, some in suits and others in casual clothes, seldom looked at Chief Judge Cheng.

The court heard how Wei and Weng Siliang, both aged 27, the ship off Kaohsiung in Taiwan while it was on its way from Shanghai to Malaysia to unload thousands of tonnes of furnace slag. Dressed as Customs and public security officers, the pirates boarded the ship and tied up the crew members.

They beat the crew to death and the bodies in the South China Sea after 10 days on the vessel. Chief Judge Cheng said the ship was sold to an foreign entity for about $2.3 million, but the exact amount of goods and the value for which they were sold remained unknown.

The judge said the 13 gang members must pay for their crime and be " without delay". They were shot by a firing squad a short time later. A source close to the squad said bullets were to the head and the heart.

A coroner was on hand to certify the deaths.